Headlines

WaPo

D.C. prosecutor now weighing whether to charge David Gregory over magazine

In an e-mail, a spokeswoman for D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said her department has “completed the investigation into this matter, and the case has been presented to the OAG for a determination of the prosecutorial merit of the case.”

Possessing a magazine capable of holding 10 or more rounds of ammunition, even if empty, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The question of how to proceed now rests with the office of Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan, which oversees prosecutions of some low-level offenses. A spokesman for Nathan said the office would not comment until a decision was made.

If they do proceed, he’ll get a $1000 fine hand slap and that’ll be that.

My understanding is that in most cases of first time offenses, specifically if there is no real prior record on the defendant (regular traffic violations won’t count) judges won’t enforce jail time or they’ll greatly reduce it. So, if the law said three years, they might make it one and if one, then none.

I know someone who got slapped with a couple of misdemeanor charges in NY several years ago*. First time offense, no prior record. According to the law the person could have sat in jail for at least a few months if not a year on top of a several thousand dollar fine.

The individual saw no jail time outside of the brief time he spent in lock-up after the arrest.

* The back story is that he lost his temper in the wrong time and place with the wrong people in trying to prevent public officials from doing their job. In his “escape”, the police claimed he tried to hit them and EMTs with his vehicle whereupon he led them on a “chase” to his home where he was arrested.

If they do proceed, he’ll get a $1000 fine hand slap and that’ll be that.

Logus on January 9, 2013 at 10:43 AM

I’d prefer they do that, even it’s mostly symbolic. You cannot have a class of people totally exempt from the law. The offense isn’t that bad, so the $1K fine would be sufficient to send a message. Gregory won’t pull a stunt like this again.

He needs to be prosecuted. I’m sure he’ll just be slapped with a fine, but they have to understand how ridiculous it’ll look if those screaming loudest for more laws aren’t held accountable when they blatantly break ones already on the books.

One thing I’d like to see is that, since this would be considered a firearms violation, he should be put into the background check system and barred from ever owning or possessing any firearm in the future. Then a second offense would be a more serious crime and require jail time. Maybe even put him on a one year suspended sentence so that if he violates the terms of that he would go strain to jail to serve the sentence.

All this could go far to illustrate the absurdity of some of these laws.

What would the charge be and would he lose his right to possess a firearm?

Dusty on January 9, 2013 at 10:58 AM

I think the law requires he attend magazine management courses where he will be allowed to handled 2 round magazines. Once he has demonstrated proficiency in handling 2 round magazines he will be allowed to wave around 6 round magazines at parties and social events while under court appointed supervision.

In July, The Washington Times highlighted the plight of former Army Spc. Adam Meckler, who was arrested and jailed for having a few long-forgotten rounds of ordinary ammunition — but no gun — in his backpack in Washington. Mr. Meckler, a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, says he had no idea it was illegal to possess unregistered ammunition in the city. He violated the same section of D.C. law as Mr. Gregory allegedly did, and both offenses carry the same maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.

Mr. Meckler was charged with the crime and was forced to accept a plea deal to avoid the cost and time of a protracted legal fight. The indefensible nature of Mr. Meckler’s case led directly to a new law passed by the D.C. Council in December that allows prosecutors to file civil instead of criminal charges, but only if the accused was unaware of the city’s laws.

That exemption probably wouldn’t apply to Mr. Gregory, who held up a 30-round rifle magazine on his show on Dec. 23 to make his point about the need to ban them. NBC asked the police in advance for permission to bring the contraband into Washington for the interview with National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre, but it was not granted.

“I unknowingly broke the law,” Mr. Meckler told The Washington Times. “Mr. Gregory knowingly broke the law. While both are seemingly harmless, both acts were deemed illegal under the District’s obscure firearms laws.” Mr. Meckler said he would never have intentionally left the rounds in his bag.

The former Army medic is still upset about being left with a criminal record and being enrolled on the police list of firearms-related criminals.

“I think if you had to measure the criminality of the two instances, [David Gregory’s actions] should be interpreted as more severe. At the very least, he should be put on probation, pay a fine and be added to the District’s Gun Offender Registry, as I was ordered to do,” Mr. Meckler said.

This type of reckless disregard for the law shows the need to require permits before conducting “journalism”.

MechanicalBill on January 9, 2013 at 10:37 AM

And as I’ve pointed out elsewhere, Heller’s holding that the licensing of a constitutionally-guaranteed right is constitutional means that a license to practice journalism would be fine. It could even be subject to police approval before being issued, and to being revoked.